水工 (shuǐ gōng) — water conservancy project; irrigation works; engineer or worker specialized in hydraulic construction; sailor

Definition

水工 covers both the worker/engineer who designs dams and irrigation systems and the project itself. In the project sense it pairs directly with 工程 (e.g. 水工工程).

noun
water conservancy projectirrigation worksengineer or worker specialized in hydraulic constructionsailor
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 水工。
    Zhè ge shuǐ gōng gōng chéng yòng le shí nián cái wán chéng.
    This water conservancy project took ten years to complete.
  • 水工，。
    Tā shì yì míng jīng yàn fēng fù de shuǐ gōng, fù zé shè jì dà bà.
    He is an experienced hydraulic engineer responsible for designing dams.
  • 水工。
    Gǔ dài shuǐ gōng xiū jiàn le fù zá de guàn gài xì tǒng.
    Ancient water engineers built complex irrigation systems.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

水shuǐwater
工gōngworker or work

水 points to water work and 工 to a worker or engineering, giving a hydraulic engineer or water works.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 工 is a picture of a bladed tool used to plow ground or mark a border; some read it as a carpenter's square.

Open 工 →

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